C2 Object Storage White Paper
Introduction
Synology C2 is a service that allows clients to manage and protect their data using Synology's secure and reliable cloud infrastructure. One of these services is C2 Object Storage, an object storage service with S3-compatible API available worldwide to store your data safely.
Challenges in data storage
Challenges with data storage affect businesses of all sizes and in all sectors. Every organization stores an increasing amount of unstructured data, making it challenging to manage. In order to handle a heavy workload, a number of IT teams may be required to deploy and maintain a large amount of data and equipment.
Limited budget and rising costs
Organizations generally allocate only a small part of their revenue to IT spending. However, on-premise data storage can be costly and difficult to scale, especially with the increasing complexity and rapid growth of data.
Data silos
Data silos are created when data is isolated and controlled separately by different departments or business units. These data silos make it hard to analyze and get valuable insights from their data.
Security and resilience
IT staff is always searching for data storage solutions with better security, durability, and high availability due to the rise in ransomware attacks and the significance of disaster recovery. They must also strike a balance between the need for enough bandwidth and the time and effort needed to manage complex systems.
Compliance
Specific industries and data types may have distinct regulations and standards that must be followed when it comes to data storage and client data protection. Ensuring compliance, especially with large amounts of data, can be challenging as regulations may vary by jurisdiction and industry.
What is object storage?
Object storage, also known as object-based storage, is a solution to the previously discussed challenges. This data storage strategy treats data as distinct units called objects, and is ideal for managing unstructured data. Objects are stored in a single storehouse and are kept in a flat structure.
Unlimited scalability, cost-effectiveness, and easy-to-use HTTP APIs make it an efficient solution for breaking down data silos.
Application scenarios for object storage
Backup for large amounts of data: Object storage provides a scalable and flexible way to store and manage large amounts of data over time. It allows for easy addition and removal of objects without impacting other objects, making it a reliable and efficient way to manage unstructured data. In addition, the built-in redundancy and data protection mechanisms of object storage systems make them a good option for disaster recovery and ensuring data availability.
Storage for data lakes: Data lakes are systems or repositories where data is kept in its unprocessed, original form in a centralized repository. Storing data lakes with object storage eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming data movement and transformation processes, as the data can be processed directly from the object storage. This approach allows organizations to extract more insights and value from their data, enabling them to make better-informed decisions and gain a competitive advantage.
Cold storage for archiving: Cold storage is a data storage strategy designed for storing data that is not frequently accessed but must be retained for a long time. The low cost, scalability, and reliability of object storage make it a popular option for long-term data archiving, especially for infrequently accessed data. Its built-in redundancy and data protection mechanisms make it a reliable option for data that must be retained for extended periods of time, and its low cost makes it an attractive choice for organizations that need to store large amounts of data.
Difference between cloud object storage and cloud file storage
Cloud object storage is designed to store large amounts of unstructured data that can be accessed through APIs. While support for browsing and sharing is limited, the data stored can be integrated with numerous applications using compatible APIs.
In contrast, cloud file storage typically refers to a cloud-based file storage solution (e.g., Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive) that is designed to provide users with an easy and convenient way to store and share files online. Cloud storage typically organizes data into a structured format that can be accessed through a web-based UI or limited protocols and APIs.
Object storage systems are more efficient in handling massive volumes of data, making them the preferred method of storage for enterprises. In contrast, cloud file storage is more user-friendly for non-developers and works well with smaller user groups and easily manageable data quantities.
Object storage structure
Object storage is a distinct storage structure in which each file is referred to as an object. These objects have a unique identifier and are accompanied by relevant metadata that allows for quick searching. Objects are stored in a flat data environment known as a bucket. This allows for an infinitely scalable storage structure.
Buckets
Object storage has no hierarchy tree-like folders due to its flat structure. Instead, objects are organized into buckets. Buckets are scalable and can hold nearly unlimited objects (with each object containing up to 5 TB). Each bucket comes with its own globally unique identifier. Bucket names are unique globally across all data centers and once created cannot be edited.
Identifier
Each object has its own unique identifier (which consists of its name and version ID). Paired with metadata, this allows an object to be easily searchable. If an object has a "/" in its name, the C2 Object Storage web portal will display the object name contained before the slash as a separate virtual folder. Despite the fact the name of the object contains a slash as part of its identifier, the bucket’s structure remains flat rather than hierarchical as typical of a file system.
Metadata
An object can have almost unlimited metadata, which allows you to describe a file with key:value pairs and easily search for files.